In 2013 social media engagement will play an important role in small and medium sized business growth. Sure, social media has been around for several years now, with sites like Twitter and Facebook, but up until now it’s been the big brands like Target, WalMart, Nike, and others who have invested significant resources in social media.
This year, though, is the year of the small business. Never before has it been easier for small and medium sized businesses to leverage social media outreach, connect with customers, and use sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest to drive traffic back to their sites and create lasting relationships with customers. But to make that happen, you’ve got to do a few things first:
Understand Social Media is a Conversation
First and foremost, you must understand social media is not an advertising platform, but a conversation. Talk with your customers – not to them – and listen to what they have to say about your products, brand, offerings, and more. Only then will you get the most out of building these relationships and creating a set of loyal customers.
Engage and Listen To Customer’s Concerns
Have you ever gone on Twitter to complain about the cable company, or bad traffic on the highway during rush hour? Guess what; we all do that. Other people are heading onto social media to complain and gripe about your brand, too, and while that may scare you, it actually presents an amazing opportunity. Like never before, you can reach out to these people, hear their concerns, and seek to find a solution to their problems that can strengthen your business and their loyalty.
Monitor What People Are Saying About Your Brand
Out in the blogosphere, a lot of people have a lot of opinions on local businesses, both good and bad. And in social media sites, you can index and search for those opinions to monitor what people think about you, your products, your brand, and your company’s reputation. It’s market research more pure and unfiltered than ever before, and it’s at your fingertips every day on social media sites.
Be Transparent and Accessible
One of the best parts about using social media for your small or medium-sized business is that you can be transparent and incredibly accessible to your customer base. Whether it’s tweeting behind the scenes pictures, sharing fun facts about your employees on Facebook, or just answering customer questions each and every day through Google Plus, transparency builds brand loyalty and trust, and in turn, your brand’s reputation over time.
Become a Reliable and Trusted Brand In Your Industry
Social media is content hungry, and with good content and a great brand, you can build a reputation over time to become one of the most popular brands in your industry. Social media allows you to leverage networks and relationships online that turn into offline sales and customer loyalty like never before, and can make small and medium-sized businesses seem mighty with just a few tweets and posts!
Interested in how WSI Connect can help you leverage social media engagement? Contact us today to learn more.
